Restaurants, and in particular fast food restaurants, utilize a large amount of cooking oil. The cooking oil is typically employed in fryers which are utilized for frying various foods such as french fries, various meat products, and the like.
As will be appreciated, the cooking oil has a limited life and must be replaced periodically as the oil tends to break down and as is well known, the oil can also impart an off taste to the food.
The used oil frequently contains a substantial amount of animal fat. Since animal fats will congeal at lower temperatures, the cooking oil must be drained while it is hot. A substantial danger exists as the cooking oil represents a fire hazard and also since a hot liquid could cause serious injury to the personnel handling the oil.
It is known in the art to employ a manual method wherein the vat or fryer containing the cooking oil is physically tipped to drain the oil into a disposal container. Such an operation is highly dangerous and is rarely practiced nowadays due to these dangers.
An alternative method is the use of a hose to drain the used oil, the hose being connected to a suitable pump. The use of such a hose can in itself be a danger as the hose will tend to become hot.